The Hero of Ludonia
[Wind!]
Elliott noticed the wind blade magic that Ares had unleashed just in the nick of time.
He twisted his body to avoid a direct hit, but Elliott sustained a large wound on his cheek. Though a considerable amount of blood was flowing, it wasn’t a deep injury.
Having missed his last-ditch strike, Ares’s disadvantageous situation continued. Carlos, who had shouted Elliott’s name, was still far away.
As if cutting through his hesitation, Elliott raised his sword once more.
“This is the end.”
His voice carried a tone of bitter sorrow.
But suddenly, someone stood in his way.
A ghostly figure clad in an ancient robe.
“What!” “The Prophet!”
Elliott and Ares shouted simultaneously.
After a moment’s hesitation, Elliott swept away the prophet with his sword as if brushing aside an obstacle.
The robed specter vanished like an illusion.
“Damn it, always getting in the way!”
The irritated Elliott pursued the fleeing Ares and swung his sword again.
However, this strike was firmly blocked by a sword.
“Stop, Elliott.”
It was Carlos’s sword. He had finally made it in time.
Seeing his master’s figure, Elliott stepped back.
“Ares, leave this to me and go to your companions.”
At Carlos’s words, Ares quickly stood up, grabbed his sword, and ran off.
“A man quick to flee. He hardly seems like a hero.”
Elliott sneered. But Carlos shook his head.
“Fighting head-on isn’t the only way to be a hero. Sometimes it’s necessary to run away.”
“But Your Highness never once fled, did you?”
“No… I did flee.”
Deep wrinkles formed between Elliott’s brows.
“That can’t be true. I’ve been with you since childhood. Your Highness never once did anything resembling fleeing. Even when surrounded by the Demon King’s army, you broke through the enemy’s center to escape. That doesn’t count as fleeing.”
“I’m not talking about that time. If it seemed like I never fled, it was only because I was putting on a brave front in front of you all. Because you and Felip were there, I didn’t flee. No, I couldn’t flee. That’s all there was to it.”
“…Either way, Your Highness didn’t flee, isn’t that right?”
Elliott pressed closer with a stern expression.
“No, that’s wrong. I fled. In the very end, I fled.”
The monsters that had been surrounding them were called away by the demon toward Ares and the others, losing interest in the two of them.
“After Ludonia’s first offensive failed and we suffered a crushing defeat to the Demon King’s army, I was far more shocked than you all could imagine. You who were always by my side should know, right? That was my first setback. After all, I had never failed even once before, and so many people died for my sake. The mental anguish was immeasurable.”
“Your Highness, what exactly are you saying?”
Elliott wore a puzzled expression. He felt something strange about Carlos talking about himself as if it were someone else’s story.
“Of course, I’m talking about the first and last time the man called Carlos fled.”
All expression had drained from Carlos’s face. Though he usually displayed his emotions openly and eloquently, he seemed like a completely different person.
“You are…”
Elliott, who had lost his fighting spirit in front of his master, gripped his sword with renewed strength.
“After that defeat, I was summoned back to the royal capital. Without being allowed to bring you along, completely alone. In the carriage on the way back, I was tormented by guilt. I had believed I could do anything, had been confident that things would go well this time too, but my strategy was turned against me, and knights died calling out my name. While you all had the words of those knights who died that day carved into your hearts, I had their deaths themselves carved into mine. It was eating away at my heart.”
“Ridiculous! Your Highness is someone who can overcome even the deaths of knights and transform them into your own strength! That can’t be true!”
“That’s the story of your ideal Carlos, isn’t it, Elliott?”
Carlos stated matter-of-factly.
“What…”
“Father and the senior retainers didn’t scold me as harshly as they could have. They must have noticed something was wrong with me. Indeed, I was despondent. Father worried about me and kept me confined to the royal capital under the pretense of illness. But then, something happened that made things even worse. You and Felip, your dissatisfaction mounting, gathered allies and formed the Prince’s faction. And you schemed to put me on the king’s throne.”
“That illness was psychological? From my perspective, it only looked like they were holding Your Highness captive under the pretext of illness. It was only natural that we would try to rescue Your Highness and make you king!”
Elliott appealed with heightened emotion.
“As a result, I took poison. To make you all believe I was truly ill. By doing so, I prevented civil war and kept the border defenses from collapsing. Elliott, you saw it too, didn’t you—my pale face. You heard it too—the words ‘protect the country.'”
At Carlos’s unexpected words, Elliott gasped.
“…I saw it. I heard it. When we went to the royal capital, we were granted an audience with Your Highness, and understanding that you were truly ill, we returned to the border. To think you had taken poison…”
“That’s right. As a result, things proceeded exactly as I had planned. In exchange for my life.”
Carlos’s voice, like his expression, became increasingly flat and emotionless.
“Life? What are you saying? Your Highness is alive, aren’t you?”
[No, I died. I am dead.
You killed the hero with your own hands, Elliott.
That’s why I was able to obtain Carlos’s form.]
Carlos’s skin color began changing to a deathly pale. Like a corpse.
“…Who are you? Who exactly are you?”
Elliott no longer tried to hide his hostility and readied his sword.
[Don’t you know me? I should be part of this country’s legends. I have neither form nor name. But you call me this: ‘Shapeshifter.’]
Carlos also readied his sword. His eyes turned crimson, human-like yet not human.
“Shapeshifter? A Shapeshifter? A monster that mimics humans! Who would believe such a story? You killed His Highness and tried to take over the country! You monster!”
Elliott swung his sword in a rage, and the Shapeshifter easily parried it with his sword.
I never expected you to claim to be a Shapeshifter. I was surprised when I first heard it. I wondered why the Demon King’s army knew that I was in Ludonia.”
With swords crossed between them, both faces drew close.
“Why! Why did you reveal your true form now!”
[Because that’s what Carlos would have done. He couldn’t bring himself to kill you when you bore no hostility toward him. A troublesome and earnest fellow. That’s exactly why you all adored this man, isn’t it?]
“Don’t talk as if you know!”
Elliott, having created some distance, unleashed a powerful slash driven by rage.
“Hmm, you’re stronger when emotion takes over.”
The Shapeshifter deflected the attack with his sword while speaking in the same flat tone.
“Don’t say things like Carlos-sama while wearing Carlos-sama’s face!”
Elliott’s full-powered strike came down from above.
The Shapeshifter didn’t block with his sword but stepped back to avoid it.
“Carlos’s memories are already mine. This body too perfectly mimics Carlos’s down to the smallest detail. Nothing is different. Neither you nor Felip, who were so close to him, noticed, did you? However, the original Carlos’s heart was that of an ordinary human. Rather, you could say it was delicate. It wasn’t a heart that could truly become a hero.”
“How dare you insult His Highness!”
Elliott slashed with even more force, and the Shapeshifter deflected it with his sword.
“I’m not insulting him. That’s what’s normal. Heroes are the abnormal ones. Because they’re abnormal, they can embark on such reckless paths as defeating the Demon King. In that regard, Ares is truly abnormal. He seriously intends to defeat the Demon King. Without any burden, as if it’s the most natural thing. As if it’s his duty. That’s why you all fail to notice his peculiarity.”
“Don’t mock us! Carlos-sama is in no way inferior to Ares!”
“This isn’t about being inferior or superior. Even I, having become Carlos, should possess the mentality necessary for a hero exactly as you all wished, right? After all, I’m not human but a being who has lived through eternal ages, so I don’t waver. In a sense, I myself could be said to be the very Carlos you sought, couldn’t I?”
The Shapeshifter, turning to the offensive, pushed Elliott back with skillful swordwork.
“Silence, silence, SILENCE!”
Elliott swung his sword with all his might.
[Ah, Elliott. I warned you many times, didn’t I?]
There was a hint of pity in the Shapeshifter’s words.
[When you let your emotions run too high, you create openings.]
As Elliott raised his sword high, the Shapeshifter quickly stepped in and swept his sword horizontally.
“Gah…”
Struck in the abdomen by the magic-enhanced sword through his armor, Elliott collapsed to his knees.
[Carlos thought of you all as precious. He didn’t want you to die.]
The Carlos who had struck showed no joy, rather seemed to emanate sadness.
[That’s why he offered his own life instead. No, perhaps he wanted to find peace by doing so. From the failure he had committed.]
The Shapeshifter gazed intently at Elliott, who was crouched on the ground.
[…It seems my sword hesitated as well. Memories dwell in human bodies too. In this body I obtained as well. No matter what, Carlos held you all dear. After Ares was determined to be the hero, when monsters began appearing throughout the territory, I immediately suspected you all. But Carlos tried to believe in you.
My memories and Carlos’s continued to clash, and the situation only worsened.
That’s when Ares and his group arrived. Entrusting this matter to Ares’s group was both my will and Carlos’s. The result was as I expected, but… I myself was hoping it wouldn’t turn out that way.]
As he spoke, the Shapeshifter’s eyes and skin color returned to Carlos’s once more.
“…Where are you going?”
Elliott glared at the Shapeshifter’s transformation with eyes filled with hatred.
“You know well enough. That blue demon came here specifically targeting Ares and his group, didn’t he? I don’t intend to let this opportunity slip by. If the demon general targeting Ludonia is eliminated, defending the country will become much easier. This too is the duty of ‘Ludonia’s Hero.'”
The Shapeshifter, having returned to Carlos’s form, headed toward the ring of continuing battle with the monsters.
“You are not a hero… You are absolutely not…”
Unable to stand up, Elliott groaned.
“You’re right, Elliott. You’re absolutely right. You killed the hero. Sometimes excessive expectations can kill people too.”
Carlos declared without even looking back.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT gadgetizedpanda.net
TLNOTE:Who killed the hero? there’s your answer. Or is it?
Because of that volume 1 and 2 fan translation in this site will be removed in the near future
otherwise check the internet archive
As usual, please consider reading other novels written by Daken sensei listed below :
- Monster Meat Led Me to the Throne
- The Castle of Canaan ~ The Lost Kingdom’s Princess, the World’s Hidden Treasure, and the Grand Adventure of the Mightiest Band of Thieves Versus an Empire ~
- The Wicked Princess and 12 Eyes – The Strongest Squires and the Legendary Evil Woman, the Second Time in Her Life
- The Suspects of Necromancy
- The Exiled Merchant Saves the World with the Power of Gold (translated by my friend meerkat)
- The Last Magic (translated by my friend narwhal)
Also check out my friend Localizermeerkat for more LN translations!
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